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"I MISSED THIS," ELTON sighed happily as he snuggled into Magnolia's side. They were sprawled out on the living room couch in a heap of blankets and pillows as they watched Kill Bill. Magnolia hummed in response, mouth full of potato chips. "Like, really missed it. Missed you."

Magnolia smiled, hugging the arm he draped around her tightly. "Me too," She was barely paying attention to the movie, focusing mostly on the company of her best friend. "It's been hell without you." Elton couldn't have known how literal that statement was — rogue vampires, unrequited love, the true pain of what Jasper put her through — but he could never know, and that was the worst pain of all.

Elton strained his head to look at her with soft hazel eyes. His smile was bright and genuine as he watched her. "I'm just glad you're okay. I was worried you'd come back disturbed or something," They both chuckled. "But you didn't. You're still my Magnolia."

"Shut up," She laughed, rolling her eyes with a smile. "You're such a sap, Elton."

"Only for you, my love!" He spoke in a baby voice, tackling her in a bear hug.

Magnolia screeched with delight as she fought him off. "Elton! Stop, you dork!"

After a few more hugs and tickles, he politely listened and stopped, placing his head back on her stomach. "Expect more of this for the next few days," He smirked.

Magnolia shook her head with a smile and focused back on the movie. She couldn't remember how it ended, however, as a few minutes later, the two of them had fallen asleep.

The morning that followed had to have been the calmest Magnolia had had in months. Her mother made breakfast and the entire family sat around the dining room table and ate — together. It was perfect, in her opinion. There were no vampires, no wolves, nothing dangerous or deadly.

However, she knew it couldn't stay like that. Her dad had turned on the television for them to watch the morning news. What they heard was horrifying. People in Seattle were going missing left and right, dead bodies pulling up, and the police had no clue what was causing the disappearances, but they suspected it was the work of a serial killer.

Magnolia and her parents knew the truth, however. No human could pull off such a scheme like this — it was the work of vampires, and by the looks of it, a lot more than one. "I gotta call Alice," Magnolia announced, raising from her chair and grabbing her flip phone. Her parents didn't argue, allowing her to go.

She stopped by the front door and dialled the vampire's number. Alice picked up immediately. "I take it you've seen the news?"

"What does it mean? This can't be just one vampire," Magnolia bit her nails as she leaned against the door frame, a new habit she had picked up since that day in Italy.

"Most likely it's not. Jasper suspects these are newborns."

Horror struck Magnolia as her blood ran cold. "Newborns? And you think there's multiple?"

Alice hummed. "Over a dozen, we think. Someone's creating an army."

"Oh god," Magnolia glanced over at her parents, who were subtly watching her out of the corners of their eyes. "What's Carlisle planning?"

"Nothing solid yet, but we're working on it," She paused. "Actually, we were hoping your parents could take a look, scout around Seattle."

Magnolia looked back at her parents, who were now giving their full attention to their daughter, and so was Elton, except he looked considerably more confused. "I can ask. I'll call you back with an answer, okay?"

"Thank you, Magnolia." The line clicked and went silent.

Shutting the phone, Magnolia took a deep breath. "Can I talk to you guys for a minute?" She called to her parents. They were already standing and making their way over to her. With hushed whispers, she explained the situation and what Alice asked them to do. "I can take Elton out so you guys don't have to worry about him or me."

Ariana nodded, eyes strained with focus. "Good idea. We'll leave first thing in the morning."

"Stay with the pack while we're gone, I'll feel better if you have extra protection," Timothy asked quietly.

Magnolia nodded. "And I'll check on the Cullen's, make sure they're okay, and that Bella is, too."

She headed back over to Elton, his eyebrows furrowed. "What was that all about?"

Magnolia frowned. "There's some family stuff going on. It's nothing." She picked up her plate and began walking to the kitchen sink.

"Why did you have to call Alice?" Elton followed close behind her, his plate in hand.

"Elton," Magnolia stopped. "There are some things that I just can't tell you, no matter how much I want to. It's for your safety," She felt terrible seeing the look on Elton's face. She knew what he was thinking — it was last year all over again. "I promise, as soon as I get the chance to tell you anything I will. But it's too soon to tell," She put her plate down and grabbed his hand, forcing him to look her in the eye. "I love you."

Elton took a deep breath and rolled his head back. "I love you too," He drawled, a small smile playing on his lips.

Just like they promised, Timothy and Ariana left for Seattle the next day. At the first sight of sunlight, they were gone. "You down the hangout today?" Magnolia asked Elton as she cleaned up their cereal bowls.

"Sure," Elton shrugged as he scanned through a book. "Where were you thinking?"

"Well," She turned to face him. "I have to meet up with Alice. She wants to talk about party planning, and then I thought we could go down to La Push?"

Elton nodded. "Beats sitting here all day."

Magnolia smiled. "That's the spirit,"

After the events of last night, Magnolia could tell Elton was still apprehensive about the whole keeping secrets things. She hoped one day she could show him who she truly was. The car ride to the Cullen's was comfortable. They didn't speak much but they did sing along to some Beatles songs.

Alice was waiting outside when they pulled up in the large driveway. Elton gapped, he has never seen the Cullen house before. Magnolia forgot how jarring it could be if you weren't used to it. "Holy shit..." He whispered in awe. "They live in a mansion."

Magnolia giggled as she parked the car. "They would call it modest," She laughed. Looking back at Alice, she could clearly see the darkness in her eyes, meaning hunting was still scarce for them. "Hey, would you mind staying in the car? I'll just be a minute."

Elton nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah...sure," He was entirely focused on the eccentric house to care.

Alice hugged her once Magnolia reached the front door. "I'm glad you could come. This won't be long, we won't keep Elton waiting."

Magnolia chuckled softly as they entered the home. "I don't think he minds,"

Alice led her to the living room, where Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett were sitting and watching television. "Magnolia!" Esme smiled as she raised from her seat. "It's so good to see you!" She enveloped the girl in a hug. "How are your parents doing?"

Magnolia smiled softly. "Good. They just left for Seattle this morning. They'll be looking for any signs of the army, just like you asked, Carlisle."

The doctor smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Magnolia. It's best if we work together to solve this...problem."

"Agreed," Magnolia nodded. The room fell silent and suddenly she was very uncomfortable. "Why did I need to come by, exactly?"

They each looked between one another, neither one unable to decide who should speak. "I'm not telling her!" Emmett threw his hands up in surrender.

Alice groaned. "The reason you're here is about Jasper," Magnolia's face dropped to a scowl and she crossed her arms. She suddenly felt very defensive. "Just...hear us out."

"No, Alice!" Magnolia put her foot down. "You know how I feel about you getting involved with my love-life!" She looked around at all of the Cullen's, who each had similar frowns on their faces. "What? Is he okay? Is he hurt?"

"Physically, no. But mentally..." Alice drifted off.

Emmett groaned. "He's a bummer! Just hear him out, Maggie, please. I can't take this much sadness."

Magnolia was furious. She couldn't believe them. "What's going on?" Jasper's voice alerted them all. Everyone turned to face him. He looked just as, if not more angry than Magnolia. They all stayed silent. "Alice," He growled. "What did you do? I can feel Magnolia's fury from across the city."

Alice groaned. "We can't take it anymore, Jazz! We hate seeing you this way and we were hoping Magnolia would help."

Jasper paused and his eyes narrowed. "What part of let her heal do you not get, Alice? You're the one who told me that!" He turned to Magnolia, eyes weary. "I'm sorry they brought you all the way out here for this. I can see Elton waiting. I can walk you back if you'd like?"

Magnolia looked back at the other vampires before nodding. She would have a serious talk with them later. "I expect better from you all," She warned. "Especially you, Carlisle," She turned back to Jasper. "Come on."

They walked silently to the front door. Magnolia paused as she placed her hand on the handle. Jasper frowned. "I'm incredibly sorry for them," She looked him in the eye. His normally honey-golden irises were pitch black.

"You're not hunting," She was surprised at how concerned she sounded.

Jasper shrugged. "The others are more important."

"You don't think that," Magnolia rolled her eyes. "You're depressed...and it's my fault."

His eyes widened. "No! You are not at fault for any of this. Do not blame yourself."

Magnolia shook her head and smiled softly. "But if vampires lose their mates don't they..." She trailed off at the look Jasper was staring at her with — pure and utter love — it was almost sickening.

"But I haven't lost you," He smiled sadly. "As long as you are alive, I haven't lost you, not really."

AUTHORS NOTE
kind of filler but eh, whatever. I'm gonna try these things where I ask you guys a question so I can interact with you more, so...what is your favourite book and why?